Greater Manchester Police 'needs funding for EDL march'

The cost of policing a march by the English Defence League (EDL) in Hyde should be met by extra funding from the government, the chair of Greater Manchester's Police Authority has said.

Paul Murphy said the cost to the force of policing the event on Saturday was about £180,000.

He said: "There needs to be additional funding from the government."

About 600 people took part in the march. There were 11 arrests for minor public order offences.

The EDL protesters were escorted from Hyde railway station to the demonstration site at a car park in the town.

Following the march, police then walked the group back to their coaches and the station.

The price of democracy in Great Britain should not be borne by the people of Greater Manchester”

Mr Murphy said he would consider asking for additional one-off funding, as was the case for the riots in August.

He said: "We've had five of these EDL marches. If the average cost is £200,000 then that's £1m a year.

"The price of democracy in Great Britain should not be borne by the people of Greater Manchester.

"It has to be borne nationally if we're going to protect the rights of people to march."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Police forces have the opportunity to apply for a special grant if one-off operational issues place additional financial pressures on their resources.

"If approved, the grant criteria covers costs over and above 1% of the total force budget."